The present disclosure relates to a developer container suitable for application to image forming apparatuses, such as copiers, printers, etc., a developing device including such a developer container, and an image forming apparatus including such a developing device.
Conventionally, in image forming apparatuses of electrographic type, a developing device visualizes as a toner image an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of a photosensitive drum as an image carrier. The toner image is transferred to a recording medium (paper, a viewgraph, or the like), thereby performing image formation. In an image forming apparatus, when the amount of remaining toner in the developing device becomes less than a predetermined amount, toner is supplied from a toner container connected to the developing device.
When the toner container is emptied of the toner in image formation, the user replaces the toner container. In order to do so, the toner container is mounted detachably to the body of the image forming apparatus. The user removes the emptied old toner container from the body of the device. Then, the user fits a new toner container filled with toner to the device body.
Specifications for the toner container detachably mounted to the body of the image forming apparatus may be set differently depending on the type of the image forming apparatus, an operating environment, etc. The specifications may be set according to the country or area where the image forming apparatus is used, the printing speed of the device, the color and materials of the toner, etc. For this reason, if a new toner container set according to an inappropriate specification would be fitted in error in replacement of the toner container, malfunction of the device and/or degradation of print quality may be caused.
In view of the above, various techniques for prevention of erroneous fitting of the toner container are provided. For example, a plurality of protrusions are formed on the bottom surface of a toner container in some image forming apparatus. The arrangement of the plurality of protrusions differs according to the specification of the toner container. On the other hand, a sliding member is provided at a fitting part of the device body where the toner container is to be fitted. The sliding member includes a plurality of contact parts capable of being in contact with the plurality of projections. The plurality of contact parts of the sliding member are arranged correspondingly to the arrangement of the plurality of protrusions of the toner container. Accordingly, if the arrangement of the protrusions is different from that of the contact parts, the sliding member cannot be moved. Thus, the toner container is prevented from being fitted to the device body. Each arrangement of the protrusions and the contact parts is made differ according to the specification of the toner container to prevent erroneous fitting of the toner container.